Pricing

How much does it cost to landscape a garden?

This is one of the most common questions we hear very early on in our customer relationship, and it is also one of the most difficult questions to answer.

No two gardens are the same, which makes it difficult to provide accurate costings without having an initial consultation; even then we can only provide guide costing’s without doing a site survey. That said, most people want to know at an early stage what kind of budget they may need to create their ideal garden.

To give a scale of costings, it is best to think of your garden like an additional room for your home. If you wanted to undertake a structural makeover (paving, decking, complete re-landscape etc.), then it would be comparable to a new kitchen or extension, and would vary with size and specification. The greater proportion of structural work, the greater the costs.

Prices would start at around £7,000 – £15,000 for a ‘courtyard’ size garden, but for an average modest sized garden you are probably looking at £15,000 – £40,000, and for something on a large scale or with a high end specification it could be many times more.

Will landscaping my garden increase the value of my home?

Just like any other room in your house, renovating your garden will certainly increase its sale-ability. Research suggests that a really well landscaped garden with ‘wow’ factor can add 5-10% to the value of your home.

Do you compete on price?

Let me start by saying that we are not one of the cheapest landscapers in the area, in fact our prices may even be a little higher than average.

Our focus is on quality first, and our costings are based on the labour, equipment and materials required to do the job right, with minimal disruption to our customers and their neighbours. We ensure that all works are prepared to high standards with appropriate foundation and base works. As we guarantee all our work, not only do we want it to look great as soon as we have finished, we need to ensure it will last and stay looking great. We will not cut corners, nor will we charge for sneaky extras that should have been included as standard.

Can I save on costs?

Yes, reducing the proportion of structural work to ‘soft’ landscaping will bring down the average price per square metre. Whilst you can’t scrimp on the base works of any structural work, you can opt for more standard finishes to reduce costs (ie using softwood sleepers instead of oak, or choosing a regular paving instead of premium). You could also do some of the clearing work or waste disposal yourselves. Finally, you could try phasing the works to spread the costs over a period of time.

Will there be extra costs?

Generally, providing you do not change the specification after accepting a quote, prices should not change. However there can be some exceptions. For example the ground works on any job are always an unknown until we start.

Our pricing is based on standard work, so will not include any hidden extras, such as buried roads, hidden structures, wells, hidden drains, buried waste requiring specialist removal (i.e. asbestos), excessive buried hardcore (unless specifically agreed in writing), significantly excessively rocky subsoil, substantial tree roots or buried tree stumps. If anything unforeseen is discovered then the client will be notified as soon as possible of the potential cost implications and alternative courses of action.

Should you request any additional work, or alter the specifications then we would advise of any alterations to costs as soon as possible.

Do you provide a detailed breakdown?

Once you have agreed the project in principle, and decided to instruct Legendary Landscapes to undertake the work, we then provide the formal estimate. We calculate our estimates based on the total price it would cost for us to undertake the works, at a high standard, at the specification requested. This will have a full description of what works are to be done with total costs, staged payments, and the full terms and conditions. We will also give an estimate of how long the works will take, which will be weather dependant.

We don’t provide a detailed cost breakdown as such, but rather agree a full specification for a total fixed price, so you can see exactly what you are getting for your money. This is partly because we use various formulas, based on previous jobs and experience to enable us to calculate pricing, and only do a ‘bottom up’ calculation where the formulas can’t help. This gives us an accurate and practical way to help with our high level of enquiries. The estimating process is a detailed procedure that take many hours to complete, and with the amount of enquiries we recieve, would not be feasible as part of the complimentary pricing process.

Additionally, it is the build specification that is important when deciding if the works are appropriate rather than listing the individual materials.

For example, you want to be sure that the base works will be deep enough, or that suitable thickness timbers are being used, rather than being told how many bags of sand are going into a job. It is therefore the total package price and specification that we agree with you. With more complex builds we can provide a breakdown by section.

For example, where a complete landscape is underway, you may want to know how much for fencing vs walling, decking vs paving, or pricing for the different phases of a project, to help with the decision process where there are budgetary constraints.

If you do still require a full bill of materials for insurance purposes or because you intend to complete the works yourself for example, then this can be arranged but will be chargeable at our consultancy rate, and we can advise how much this is likely to be for your project.

When do we pay you?

Once a specification has been agreed and accepted, we would provide a schedule of payments in advance. We usually take a 10% ‘booking in’ deposit at that point and get you scheduled into our diary. The next payment is due on the day we start, depending on the size of the job, and will usually be around 40%. This ensures we can order and pay for all materials, equipment etc. in a timely fashion, and minimise the risk of any delays to works. The balance is then spread over the course of the job, via installments, with the final 10% being due upon invoice, once all works are completed. Our preferred payment method is BACS, and if you are paying by cheque you will need to ensure you allow time for the funds to clear.

“We asked a few landscape companies to quote for some stone walls we required in the garden, and we wanted them to follow the look of the existing ones. We chose Legendary because they gave us good feed back and advice and whilst they weren’t the cheapest I was extremely happy with their work. We also had a small problem which sometimes happens in gardens after a build but I only phoned them once and they were straight back and sorted it. So I wouldn’t hesitate in recommending them to anyone else.”Simon – Torquay

I hope this has given you a better understanding of the costs involved when landscaping a garden. If you would like to make an enquiry, then please get in touch by using the contact form below.

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We have many years experience in the landscape and design industry, but more importantly we listen to what our clients want and have a customer focused approach. This starts at our very first connection with you. If you call us, we will call you back in a timely manner.

Testimonials

We used Legendary Landscapes for a complete redesign and construction of our back garden, which was completed a few weeks ago. We are delighted with the result. The design process was painless, in that the plans reflected what we wanted, but significantly improved by Oli’s experience and design skills. We particularly appreciated his good listening skills, and ability to develop refinements as the design ‘hit the soil’. Throughout we felt we were engaged in a hassle-free dialogue, rather than being told what we were going to get! Other key strengths are their ability to source quality materials, great attention to detail- getting walls and paving straight true and square- and finally (but very important) we found Oli and his team always pleasant to deal with. Great job – strongly recommended. – Google ★★★★★ Review